Ear to the Ground 210: Ignoring a Financial Problem Never Works

An LSP panel of professionals provides farmers advice on dealing with financial stress.

Resources Cited in this Podcast

• Minnesota Farm Advocates: Farm Advocates, which are located throughout the state, provide one-on-one assistance for Minnesota farmers who face crisis caused by either natural disaster or financial problems. To find an advocate near you, click here. The advocate hotline is 1-800-967-2474.

• Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG): FLAG is a nonprofit law center dedicated to providing legal services and support to family farmers and their communities in order to help keep family farmers on the land. FLAG provides basic advice as well as numerous printed and online resources. More information is available here or by calling 651-223-5400.

• Minnesota Farm Business Management Program: This program, which is offered through the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, offers individualized farm management assistance and access to educational opportunities throughout the year. Farm Business Management instructors work with farmers to improve record keeping and provide in-depth financial and profitability analysis of agricultural operations. For a list of instructors throughout the state and other details, click here.

• The Minnesota Farmer-Lender Mediation Program: Contact the program via the web or at 218-935-5785.

• Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline: Free, confidential, 24/7. This call center is located in Minnesota. Calls are answered by trained staff and volunteers. If you or someone you know is struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts—call. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to somebody you don’t know. The telephone number is 1-833-600-2670 (extension no. 1).

• University of Minnesota “Dealing with Stress” website: This website contains fact sheets and tips on dealing with stress, as well as links to other resources. Click here for details.

• Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings Program: LSP’s Farm Beginnings, Farm Dreams and Journeyperson courses provide various levels of training in the areas of business planning, goal setting and marketing, among others. For details, check the website or call 507-523-3366.

Upcoming Events

December 2022

Friday December 2 – Saturday December 3

Whole Farm Planning for Climate Resilience

Friday December 2 – Saturday December 3

NOTE: This workshop has been postponed until January. Check back as details are finalized.

Climate change is making our farms and our farm planning more unpredictable. It is becoming increasingly important to address climate change considerations in our land management planning and decision-making. This winter, join the Land Stewardship Project and Laura Lengnick of Cultivating Resilience for a four-part training series targeted to specialty crop growers.

Through this series, you will be guided through a five-step process of Whole Farm Planning for Climate Resilience in order to:

Learn more about the potential impacts of increasing climate variability and change on your agricultural operation.
Evaluate climate risk management options that best support your farm and family goals by reducing risks and capturing new opportunities associated with changing climate conditions.
Make a plan to implement selected climate resilience strategies and evaluate their effectiveness over time.

This four-part series will give you tools to incorporate climate change considerations into annual operations as well as over the longer-term with an adaptive whole farm management strategy that draws on your experience and expertise as a farmer.

The first part of the training will include an overnight retreat December 2-3 at Mount Olivet Retreat Center in Farmington, MN. The additional three trainings will be held over Zoom (with the schedule TBD).

The training cost is $200/person or $350/two farming partners. This cost includes the food and lodging for the retreat as well as the additional zoom trainings and follow up support. Scholarships are available. We are targeting specialty crop growers (vegetables, cut flowers, fruits, etc.) with two or more years of farming experience for this training. There are a limited number of spaces available, so sign–up early by filling out this online form: https://forms.office.com/r/EMLRQuNS48. Please feel to reach out with any specific questions.

Wednesday December 7 – Friday December 9

Montana Organic Association Conference Featuring LSP's Brian DeVore

Wednesday December 7 – Friday December 9

See https://montanaorganicassociation.org for more information.

Saturday December 10

9:00 am – 5:00 pm: LSP Soil Microbiology Workshop with Elaine Ingham

LSP Soil Microbiology Workshop with Elaine Ingham

Saturday December 10

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Soil microbiologist Elaine Ingham of Soil Food Web will provide an in-depth workshop on how to build and monitor soil microbiology. To register, click here.

For more information, contact LSP’s Shona Langseth at slangseth@landstewardshipproject.org or Barb Sogn-Frank at bsognfrank@landstewardshipproject.org.

Tuesday December 13

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: RMA Road Show on Whole Farm Revenue Protection & Mirco Farm

RMA Road Show on Whole Farm Revenue Protection & Mirco Farm

Tuesday December 13

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

The USDA is making the Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and Micro Farm programs more accessible to small and mid-sized producers. This includes doubling the maximum insurable revenue under WFRP ($17 million beginning in 2023), more than tripling the approved revenue cap for Micro Farm eligibility (now $350,000 beginning in 2023), and reducing paperwork requirements for WFRP.

If you have looked at WFRP or the Micro Farm programs before and dismissed them, now might offer a good opportunity to take another look, and get in touch with a crop insurance agent to further explore these programs.

Join the USDA’s Risk Management Agency for a special virtual presentation covering the ins and outs of the Whole Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm programs. RMA subject matter experts will provide an in-depth look at these policies and answer questions. These events kick off the Whole Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm Road Show with in-person and virtual events across the country.

For details, click here.

The Land Stewardship Project appreciates feedback — are you interested in pursuing Micro Farm or Whole Farm Revenue Protection Coverage? Will these programmatic changes eliminate barriers to crop insurance coverage for your operation? Please reach-out and give us your feedback by contacting LSP’s Sarah Goldman or Karen Stettler.

January 2023

Tuesday January 3

All Day: 2023 Session of the Minnesota Legislature Convenes

2023 Session of the Minnesota Legislature Convenes

Tuesday January 3

For details on the Land Stewardship Project’s priorities for the 2023 legislative session, see https://landstewardshipproject.org/state-policy.

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